Nonstop flight route between Hiroshima, Honshū, Japan and Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hiroshima Airport (HIJ), Hiroshima, Honshū, Japan and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,712 miles (or 9,193 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Hiroshima Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Hiroshima Airport and NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Hiroshima Airport (HIJ):

• Hiroshima Airport (HIJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• 80% of the airport's domestic traffic is to and from Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
• The closest airport to Hiroshima Airport (HIJ) is Matsuyama Airport (MYJ), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) SSW of HIJ.
• Unusually among major Japanese airports, Hiroshima Airport has no railway station.
• The furthest airport from Hiroshima Airport (HIJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Hiroshima Airport (meaning Hiroshima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,101 miles (19,475 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Hiroshima Airport", other names for HIJ include "広島空港" and "Hiroshima Kūkō".

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• The E-3A Component is NATO's first­ operational flying unit with multinational manning.
• Surrounded by farmland and a natural woodland reserve, the base was originally built by the Royal Air Force after World War II and operated as RAF Geilenkirchen from 1953 onwards.
• The furthest airport from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,929 miles (19,198 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSE of GKE.
• Following NATO’s decision to establish the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force program and to make the base near Teveren the Main Operating Base of the E­3A Component, a major construction program was started in 1980 to modify the operational and support facilities.
• Because of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.
• An Economic Impact Study compiled by the NATO E-3A Component shows a 2008 economic impact of 275.8 million euro within a 200-kilometer radius of the base.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.